City Meetings and Updates Week of May 26

• Holiday Service Schedules for Memorial Day 5/26
  • No Streets Division Garbage/Recycling Pick-up
  • Metro Transit Service Runs on Sunday Schedule
  • City Non-Emergency Offices Closed
• City Meetings: Finance Committee 5/27
• Madison Water Utility’s Annual Water Quality Report Released
• Far East Side’s Capitol View Farmer’s Market Returns Weekly Starting 5/28
• Southeast Area Plan Walk (Rescheduled) and Hiestand Park Food Truck Night 5/29
• Events & Announcements

Holiday Service Schedules for Memorial Day 5/26

No Streets Division Collections or Drop-off Sites on Memorial Day: The Streets Division will not perform trash, recycling, brush, or large item collection on Monday, May 26th in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. The City drop-off sites will also be closed. If you usually have your garbage/recycling picked up on Mondays, set it out on Tuesday for pick-up.

Metro Service Reduced on Memorial Day: Due to the holiday, Metro operates Sunday schedules on Monday, September 2. Sunday service is available on Routes A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, L, O, P, R, S. Paratransit standing rides are canceled; Metro administrative office is closed; Route 80 operates weekend recess schedules and Routes 81-84 do not operate.

Metro’s customer service call center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Metro’s Administration office will be closed on Monday. For more information, contact Metro’s Customer Service Center at (608) 266-4466 or email mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com.

Most (non-emergency) City offices will be closed on Monday, May 26 in observance of Labor Day. They will reopen on Tuesday with regular business hours.

City Meetings

Finance Committee 5/27

The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 27, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include a resolution authorizing Olbrich Gardens to contract with a firm for design services to prepare construction documents for ugrades to the Bolz Conservancy (I’m a sponsor), an update on federal executive orders and directives to pause federal grants and loans, and an overview of 2026 Capital Budget requests. Here’s the very useful staff presentation on City agencies’ Capital Budget requests and here is the Finance webpage with links to each Capital Budget request. Watch for more information in future blog posts about the 2026 Capital and Operating budget proposals and their impact on District 3.

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Madison Water Utility’s Annual Water Quality Report Released

Madison residents are tremendously to have a deep sandstone aquifer sitting hundreds of feet below the City that provides us with excellent, safe drinking water. The Madison Water Utility has served residents since 1882 and today manages a system of 20 active wells and over 920 miles of interconnected pipes. Our water is tested for potential contaminants regularly to comply with state and federal requirements, and this Water Quality Report provides the results. 

Image credit: Madison Water Utility

In summary, our water system doesn’t have any violations of regulated substance rules. Page 6 of the 2024 Water Quality Report provides a table showing each regulated substance and a list of those wells where some amount of regulated substances were detected during 2024 water quality testing.

Most locations receive water from between one and three wells. To see which well serves your home, enter your address on this Water Utility webpage. And here is a City-wide map of those wells with labels identifying them by their number.

A Note on PFAS

Per the Water Quality Report: “PFAS are a large group of human-made chemicals widely used in industry and consumer goods. They are responsible for the waterproof, non-stick, and/or stain-resistant properties of many consumer products. PFAS do not break down in the environment and, because of their widespread use, they are commonly found in air, soil, and water as well as the blood of people and animals all over the world.”

Except for Well 15, which is currently off-line due to PFAS contamination, no Madison well exceeds any of the adopted state or proposed national drinking water standards for any PFAS. The City is building a PFAS treatment system at Well 15 to bring it back online, with completion estimated for this summer 2025. (I do think it’s fair to question whether those current regulations are adequate because the research is still evolving rapidly on this topic. If interested, consider checking out two articles on this from the Silent Spring Institute (2024) and from Harvard Law School’s Environmental & Energy Law Program (2025).)

Read the 2024 Water Quality Report here!

Far East Side’s Capitol View Farmer’s Market Returns Weekly Starting Wednesday! 

Image credit: Capitol View Farmer's Market

The Capitol View Farmer’s Market returns for 2025, starting this Wednesday, May 28th! The Far East Side’s only farmer’s market takes place each Wednesday from 3pm-7pm through early-October. Stop by 5901 Sharpsburg Drive in the North Star neighborhood (across from City View Park and check out around 20 vendors and food carts!

The locally grown food and sense of community found at the Capitol View Farmer’s Market is of particular importance at the moment as our national food supply chain faces destabilizing challenges stemming from trade policy disruption, cut-backs in food safety inspections, and a changing climate.

Southeast Area Plan Walk (Rescheduled) and Hiestand Park Food Truck Night on Thursday! 

Image credit: City Planning

The Hiestand Neighborhood Walk & Talk event with City Planning staff, originally planned for Wednesday May 21st, was rescheduled due to rain and will now take place on Thursday, May 29th at 5:30pm. This is an excellent opportunity to share your concerns and ideas for the Hiestand Park, Milwaukee Street, North Thompson Drive, etc. area as part of the Southeast Area Plan process.

The Walk & Talk will now coincide with the Hiestand Park Neighborhood Association’s 2nd annual Food Truck Night! Neighborhood leaders are bringing the Madison Children’s Museum “Roadshow” van to the food truck event with fun, hands-on activities for kids and families. Come on out to discuss your questions/concerns with City staff and myself, and grab a bite to eat!

• When: Thursday, May 29th at 5:30pm
• Where: Hiestand Park Picnic Shelter

Hope to see you there!

Events & Announcements

• Madison Police Department invites students to join the 2025 Black Youth Academy: MADISON, Wis. — The Madison Police Department is proud to announce the return of the Black Youth Academy, a free, weeklong summer program designed to build trust, leadership and life skills among Black youth in our community. [posted May 22, 2025]
• Street Closures for Monona Memorial Day Parade: Multiple streets, including Monona Drive, will be closed on Monday, May 26th for the annual Monona Memorial Day Parade. The parade route runs from Monona Grove High School to Sennett Middle School. Street closures will begin at 9:00am with the… [posted May 22, 2025]
• Lane Closures for Run Madtown Races: Multiple streets will be impacted on Saturday, May 24th and Sunday, May 25th for the annual Run Madtown race. Beginning at 7pm, the Twilight 5K will start and end on the 700 block of State St with the route looping through the… [posted May 22, 2025]
• Royal Thai Pavilion Earns 2025 Historic Preservation Award : The Royal Thai Pavilion is the 2025 Historic Preservation Award Recipient for its meticulous revival at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. [posted May 22, 2025]
• How to watch the 2025 MPD Awards Ceremony: The Madison Police Department is hosting its annual Awards Ceremony on Wednesday. The event is a way to honor officers, professional staff and community members for their bravery and commitment to public safety. The event takes place… [posted May 21, 2025]
• Announcing Madison’s First Art Trucks: The City of Madison now has two collection vehicles that have been transformed into rolling murals. [posted May 21, 2025]
• Metro Transit and MMSD Partner Again for Free Summer Passes: The Summer Youth Pass allows students to ride Metro FREE all summer long, making it easier to get to jobs, athletic camps, and other fun summer destinations around Madison. [posted May 19, 2025]
• Ordinance Change Proposed to Streamline Entertainment License Process for Local Businesses: A group of alders is introducing a set of changes to the City of Madison’s ordinances to streamline the process for local businesses seeking an Entertainment License for indoor live music. [posted May 19, 2025]
• 2025 Property Tax Base of the City of Madison: The City Assessor is responsible for the assessment process including: Center Garage Fiber Upgrade on May 19: [posted May 19, 2025]
• Basic Household Plumbing by Project Home, Wednesday, May 28: Ever wonder what’s really going on behind your walls when you flush the toilet or turn on the tap? Demystify your home’s plumbing system with Basic Household Plumbing! This hands-on course will take you from clueless to confident, covering everything from how your plumbing works to tackling common repairs like toilet and faucet replacements.
• Yahara Fishing Club Kids Fishing Day, Saturday, May 31: The first 300 kids receive a free fishing rod and bait along with help from Yahara Fishing Club members. The day coincides with the Wisconsin “free fishing weekend”, so adults can fish without a license. A free lunch of hot dogs, chips, and soft drink will be provided after the fishing.

Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted. Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.